Friday, June 21, 2013

World War Z, Under the Dome and Aaron Hernandez..........

Seriously, what the hell is going on with Aaron Hernandez!??!?! Doesn't look good for the Pats Tight End. Not to jump to conclusions or anything, and EVERYONE is certainly entitled to due process, so I'm not condemning him as guilty just yet. But let me say this, since it's highly unlikely I will be defending, prosecuting or on the jury, I'll just throw my two cents in. He's either guilty of something REALLY bad, or he is seriously covering up for someone that is. Just crazy. Regardless, I think it's safe to say I won't be protecting him as a keeper in my fantasy football league!!!!

OK, had to get that out of the way. Now, on to today's topic of discussion. Two novels that I read in the past year are both making the transition to the big screen. Well, one to the big screen as in the "theatre" and one is going to be a television series. It's always interesting to have books try to make this transition, and usually the reader ends up disappointed, as the movie/show doesn't live up to the novel. There are some exceptions, but that seems to be the general rule of thumb.

Let's start with the movie: World War Z, by Max Brooks.

Came out today. So far, I have heard mixed reviews. Not that I really care what other people think anyway. Let me first say, that I am not really into the genre of zombies, vampires, mummies and the like. I think the market is pretty saturated with the "undead" right now. I have seen a couple episodes of "The Walking Dead", and they were OK. However I am very into apocalyptic things, so some of that stuff does interest me in. Anyway, I wouldn't normally think World War Z would be something that I'd read, but something about it grabbed my attention in the book store, so I went for it. I was VERY surprised at how good it was. Couldn't put it down actually, well written, and good story. To summarize, the narrator is basically just interviewing several dozen "survivors" of the war, and the book is just a collection of those interviews. So, there really are no main characters or story lines. Some interviews are more in depth than others, and the range of who is interviewed varies greatly, from simple common citizens, to high ranking government/military officials. It's not really a linear story though, and I am really questioning how this novel could be translated to the big screen without severely changing (or adding to) the story. I am definitely going to see it at the theatre soon, but my expectations will be VERY tempered, and I fully expect it to not live up to the book, as per usual.

The other novel I read, about 1 year ago, was Under the Dome, by Stephen King.

Previously I had only read one King novel, The Stand, and absolutely loved it. I'm not really into horror stuff, so most of King's novels don't really jump out at me. But this one did, and it DELIVERED, big time. It was a great read, albeit a long one. The characters were great, and it was a classic good vs. evil psychological thriller, with a lot of other moving parts, and it all made for a great story. Just a lot of humans in a weird situations regressing to their basic human/animal instincts. I don't want to say too much, so I will just leave it at that. I was surprised when I saw this was coming to TV, but was happy they took the series route, as opposed to the mini-series, like other King novels in the past. The Stand mini-series was decent, but left SO much OUT. They could have easily made that into a series that had 3 solid seasons. I have ZERO idea what the network's plans are for Under the Dome as far as episodes, but I hope they take it slow and don't try to cram everything into one season. I think it has potential, despite it being a "network" thing. My expectations of this are set a little higher, as I think as a full series it has more potential to deliver, and to do the book justice. Of course, it premiers on Monday night at the exact time the Blackhawks and Bruins will be playing Game 6!! I guess that's what DVRs are for. But then when will I get to watch the Bachelorette!?!??!?!?

Let's face it, there is no shortage of HOT GARBAGE being thrown at all of us on TV and the big screen. Hopefully these two will deliver, but as I have stated, I won't set my expectations too high for fear of being severely let down.

I do recommend both novels though, as they are both great reads, and not super-challenging. Although, Under the Dome is a thick one.

That's all I have for now. I wanted to get this posted before these came out. I have plenty to say about the Cup Finals, and overtime playoff hockey in general. Also, plan on making my soon-to-be-famous potato salad this weekend too.

1 comment:

Its unfortunate what happened with Hernandez.... it truly is... and now that there is a witness I don't think he will be out soon... you did great not to included on your fantasy game... but hey... we still have a lot of action to enjoy...